


FailSafe

by Setheris



Series: Fragmented [3]
Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Manipulation, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-05-01 18:05:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5215496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Setheris/pseuds/Setheris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhys just wanted his friends to be safe. He didn't expect that someone would take advantage of that.</p>
<p>During EP4 of TFTB - Rule Ending.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!  
> Hope the summary didn't put you off, I'll try to come up with something better later on.   
> This is the beginning of the aforementioned Rhack fic which is focused on Rhys. I'm still a newbie and slow as hell, but I have big plans for this. Tags will change accordingly with every new chapter. Don't expect smut anytime soon, Jack and Rhys will be separated for some time. The "Fragmented" series will have stories from other characters, you don't really need to read them, but if you want to know what happened to other Borderlands characters, then you can check them out anytime.   
> Thank you.
> 
> P.S.: English is not my mother language, sorry, if something doesn't sound right.

"Jack, uh, thanks for the offer...but I think, I-I don't want to rule Hyperion. I don't want to be on top anymore..." Rhys stammered awkwardly. He ran his metal fingers through his hair. His heart was racing, Rhys knew that this could get ugly real fast. He waited for Jack's reaction, but his former boss was just standing there, blinking.

"Are you kidding me?! After all I've done for you, cupcake?! You refuse Hyperion, you refuse _me_?!" Jack burst out. Ah, there it is. Rhys was expecting this outburst. Jack was pumping himself up to rip him a new one. _Damage control, damage control!_ Maybe he should have explained himself a bit better.

"No, I-I don't mean that I wouldn't do the thing, you know." he hurriedly said. "I'll upload you, don't worry. I never intended to just leave you in my head forever. That wouldn't be fair to you."

That took the wind out of Jack sails. He felt relieved and a bit stupid, not that he would admit to it out loud, but he did jump the gun a bit there. Jack should have known that his little kitten was too soft. Not a mean bone in his body. He would have made fun of him, like he always did but Rhys' sentiment right now was turning out to be his advantage in gaining his rightful place back.

"Well, why didn't you just say so, pumpkin? Oh man, I was, like, this close into taking over your body and killing your friends while you watch and cry." Jack laughed. Jack slapped his knee and chuckled while he dapped at his eye.

"Um, what?!" Rhys said alarmed.

"Ah, don't worry about it, kitten. Just a small misunderstanding... So, how about we get this over with. While I had fun living in your head, it's awfully _limiting_."

"Jack, I... There is one thing I want you to promise me. I know you've done a lot, but I really need you to promise..." Rhys said.

"What is it now? You want money, compensation for bringing me here? Done, done, yadda yadda." Jack answered dismissively. Money was never an issue for Jack, he was that filthily rich.

"No! I don't want money. Just... You know that Vasquez and Yvette want my head... And don't forget Fiona and Sasha, the Vallory situation and most importantly Vaughn. He is still somewhere on Pandora with Cassius," Rhys began. "I'm worried about my friends. I don't want them hurt. When you get back to being the CEO, could you maybe, I don't know give us all a free pass and protection or something?" He looked hopefully at Jack.

_Ugh, those big puppy eyes_. "Fine, fine, but I don't want those Pandorian women here on Helios, they'll leave as soon as possible. And I will send someone to search for your buff nerdy bff." Jack rolled his eyes. He didn't really care for those shitty friends. But he wouldn't need to see them again, so it was a small price to pay.

"Really, thank you, Jack." Rhys smiled happily, almost wanting to hug the A.I.. Jack stared at his big goofy smile, shaking his head and grumbling something about puppies. But Rhys couldn't hear him.

"I can go to Pandora and help search–"

"Haha, cute but no, you will stay here on Helios." Jack interrupted him, not liking the idea one bit. "Wouldn't do for you to survive thanks to me, only to die on that scum-filled nacho-flavoured planet."

"But Vaughn..."

"No. Don't argue with me. You stay here on Helios. You have work to do. You can't just leave me here with all those idiots." Jack said sternly, he crossed his arms and stared Rhys down.

"I do? I mean, what work?" Rhys arched his brow. He technically was fired and if Jack would reinstate him, he would still be Assistant Vice Janitor or Salesman and after what he went through he couldn't really be happy with either jobs. It would be... _boring_. Rhys gained a lot of experience on Pandora. He achieved things that he never would have thought possible before. Rhys found friends there and while he often complained on Pandora, he also had fun and he'd seen a lot of cool stuff and met awesome people!

"Rhysie, just think about it. I'm not letting you go back to whatever shitty job you had before. You're not so useless after all. Against my pretty low expectations I had of you, you excelled. You brought the king back to his throne. And I won't forget that so easily..." Jack walked up to him and patted his shoulder. Rhys couldn't feel it, but he appreciated the gesture. "You are going to be my personal assistant."

"Um..."

"I know, I know, what an honor, am I right? From a little code monkey to my P.A., that's one hell of a promotion! What do you say, Rhysie, baby?"

"Jack, I'm really... honored but–" Jack narrowed his eyes at him, suddenly he felt pressure on his throat. Rhys looked down at his own mechanical hand threatening to cut off his airway. "I mean, yes, sir! I would be so honored, haha...ha." Rhys gulped nervously. There goes his dream of adventuring.

"Good boy!" Jack pinched his right cheek a bit with Rhys' artificial limb. He then stroked the red mark gently and released his control of Rhys' arm. Turning away, he gestured towards his chair. "Just press the button on this panel to release the chair port and we can finally get this show on the road."

Doing as Jack instructed, Rhys sat back and waited for the port to unfold itself. Taking hold of it, he glanced back at Jack questioningly. " I just have to insert it into my port, right? It won't hurt like last time?"

"Nah, kitten, it won't hurt. Just put it in, heh, and let me do all the hard work." Jack answered. "I'll be gentle, baby boy." he added and leered at Rhys, which sadly had no effect on him, because his sexual undertones went right over the oblivious boy's head. Jack was slightly disgruntled.

"Okay. Let's do this." Rhys said with sudden determination. He took the port and inserted it in his. His EchoEye activated and he looked up to Jack, who appeared right next to him. Jack finger-gunned him, making Rhys smile gently back. Rhys had his doubts before, about the maniacal A.I. of his idol, but Jack proved himself over and over to be somewhat trustworthy. Rhys was still a bit afraid of him, but he thought, that they really could be friends. Maybe he should ask him, after they settled all their problems, if he wanted to be bros.

"Rhys! We have... problem..." Rhys jumped slightly as he received Fiona's call. Her voice was slightly distorted, it must be a disturbance that was caused by his connection to Helios mainframe.

"Fiona! What's wrong? What problem?" he hurriedly answered.

"Need....leave..." The connection was suddenly disconnected, leaving Rhys worried. He couldn't call her back, something was disrupting the network.

"Jack, how long? I think they are in trouble!" Jack ignored him, seemingly concentrating on his task to finish his upload. Rhys waited impatiently, until he heard a chuckle that evolved into a creepy laugh coming from the blue spectre beside him. He awkwardly chuckled along, biting his lip worryingly. Then, one second to the next, the A.I. vanished. The port disconnected next and folded itself back neatly into the chair.

"Jack?!" Rhys quickly turned around. Trying to find Jack again, but there was no glimpse nor answer to his calls. "Jack? Can you hear me?" Rhys stood up and looked around the office. He tried calling Fiona and Sasha on his Echo but he still wasn't able to establish a connection.

"Argh, what do I do now?" He tried to be calm but he was really close to hyperventilating. Rhys didn't know what happened to Jack, maybe he failed and... maybe he got deleted or something? No, Jack, just needed a bit time. And Fiona, Sasha, Loaderbot and Gortys are able to get out of any situation that would come up. The only one screwed here was him. Rhys, the helpless one. Damn it. He hurriedly rubbed his eyes and pulled himself together. Rhys didn't come here to Helios just to collapse like a card house because he's suddenly alone.

Rhys went to the trap door. It closed itself after he gained entrance to the office. There must be a switch somewhere to open it again. Rhys walked back to the desk, he touched the corners and margins of it with his flesh hand. Trying to feel for any indentation, but he came up with nothing.

Half an hour later, the trap door was still closed and his Echo was still not working. Right now, he was sitting in the chair, trying to figure out how he would get out of this and worrying about his friends.

Suddenly, he heard the trap door activating. Rhys immediately got up and looked at the trapdoor with hope. Maybe it was one of his friends, rescuing him? His hopes were dashed the moment he heard the annoying voice of someone he expected to never see again.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here." Emerging from the trap door was his one and only nemesis.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading my fic. I'm really grateful, I didn't expect for so many people to like it! :)  
> I hope that I'm improving my writing but if anyone of you think, that something really doesn't make sense plotwise or whatever, please message me and I will try to make it better! 
> 
> Warnings for this chapter: Violence and personal space issues.

"Vasquez?! How are you not dead?" Rhys asked horrified. Just remembering that particular event, made him want to puke. Was he maybe hallucinating? Oh wait, Jack did mention something about some kind of hormone injectors hidden inside the cushions of the chair. Or maybe he waited longer than he thought and he died of _starvation_ or _thirst_ and this was now his eternal punishment?

"I had to... uh... peel of your face off a bandit and everything..." Bleh. Not to mention picking up bloody chunks of Vasquez' blown body and depositing everything in a box to rot even further. That was _really_ disgusting. And the smell! At least, after that, it was sealed air-tight the whole time he had to carry it with him, until Yvette opened the container to check the content... Urgh. Yvette didn't even flinch as the stench hit her face, but again, she also played Rhys the whole time without him even noticing.

"You did what?" Vasquez walked calmly up to him, throwing his arms in the air, before he just shook his head in disappointment. "That is quite sick, Rhys. How could you do this to me?" He straightened his suit and smirked at him. "I thought we were friends. Or at least mentor and student. After all... I've done for you. The guidance I've provided, the challenges you overc–"

"As if. You wanted to kill me the whole time, while you tried to manipulate Vaughn and I into betraying each other. Which of course _failed_." The anger was rising, as it always did when he was dealing with his nemesis. He was still curious as to how Vasquez escaped his obliteration but right now he was seeing red and on top of that he was anxious about his friends too. No communication and the long wait already had him on edge, but the first person he saw to be smarmy Vasquez? "I even still have bruises when you punched me back in the Atlas facility..." He covered his stomach with his mechanical arm. Rubbing it slightly.

"Aw, buddy, don't pout, that was just a _love tap._ How can you still be so blind?" Vasquez reached out to touch him but Rhys flinched away and gave him the stink eye. "Don't be like that, Rhys. Can't you see the bigger picture here? What I've told you back then is still true... If you had chosen to accept your place, your life would have been much more _pleasant_..."

"Whatever, _Assquez_. I don't care! Can't you quit all this... stupid...mentor talk thing and let's get back to the important parts?" Trying to appear even taller, Rhys puffed himself up and crossed his arms. He knew he failed to look even somewhat intimidating, when Vasquez copied his demeanour, easily "outbuffing" him. The muscles in his arms were definitely a lot bigger. Rhys took a step back. _Damn you, noodle arms!_

"Uh, did you pump yourself with steroids or what? Haha...ha." Rhys laughed awkwardly. "Anyhow...I-I want answers! What did you do to my friends?!"

Instead of answering, Vasquez simply walked past him, circling the desk until he took a seat in Handsome Jack's golden chair. Rhys eyed him with suspicion as Vasquez rummaged around his pockets. He placed a circular object on the desk and activated it, the device beeped and started to whir. It looked like a pocket computer.

"What are you doing?" He arched his eyebrow at Vasquez. "Is that a computer?"

"This little thing here is an override. Top notch secret hacker device and one-of-a-kind. We call it _Hacktor_." Vasquez turned to manually extract the chair port, ripping out a side panel in doing so and tossing it over his shoulder. The noise of it falling to the ground, made Rhys flinch. "It's not sentient or anything, but the name was voted upon. The nerds in the R &D department wouldn't _shut up_ about it, they thought they were so witty."

Rhys didn't really know what to do, he watched the proceedings with a rising amount of foreboding. He presumed that Vasquez intended to insert the chair port into Hacktor. But what would that do? Maybe he should stop it or shouldn't he? After all, Jack could still be somewhere in the mainframe and whatever Vasquez was doing, it probably wouldn't be good for anyone.

But what else could he do except talk? He is not physically able to stop him, _obviously_ , and he couldn't even run away, because the trap door closed itself again after Vasquez climbed up. Before he could voice any protests however, Vasquez pinned him with a condescending look after he finally retrieved the chair port. Vasquez settled back and toyed with the port silently until he suddenly started talking again.

"Do you remember, back then, after Handsome Jack's death, when the people here on Helios would try to break into his office all the time in the hopes of getting their hands on some kind of memorabilia?" Rhys nodded, confused. He couldn't fathom where Vasquez was going with this.

"Security simply couldn't handle everyone wanting a piece of him and the measures taken in order to prevent any kind of theft ultimately evolved into today's state of security. And then we provided the masses the opportunity to get their HJ fix... The tours and souvenirs they all serve more than one purpose. Not only to commemorate the life and death of one of the biggest business moguls we ever had but also to keep those fanboys and girls from doing something more drastic. Like... trying to eat this chair or...or... something. You know bat shit stuff."

Rhys could feel his cheeks heating up, he cringed as he remembered a time where he once reached a point in his earlier fanboy phase where he wanted to desperately enter (read: break into) Jack's office too so he could take a few selfies on that very chair. Rhys never wanted to steal anything but he thought it would look really cool to snap a few funny pictures with Elpis in the background but unfortunately his plans were thwarted by Vaughn _every_ time until Rhys admitted defeat because of the added security. His short friend was surprisingly strong. Or mabye not that surprisingly, now that he'd seen what Vaughn was hiding under his button-downs.

"Is there a point somewhere or do you just love to hear your own voice?" Rhys asked defensively. He wanted to change the subject before Vasquez could use the opportunity to make fun him. After all, his cubicle in the sales department wasn't exactly closed to the public. Everyone who had two eyes and who was of average height could have taken a peak of all the motivational Hyperion issued posters he had pinned to the half-walls. Not to mention his prized limited motivational "Handsome Jack: Words of Greatness" bobble head figure, which he had won through a lottery. Rhys hated working overtime, but he often had to because of Henderson always dangling his promotion before him. It would leave him more often than not the only one working at night. The lights would be off except for his station and it would always be so eerily quiet. The small toy had made those nights more bearable. Rhys would often tip the bobble head and watch it wobble and talk, hoping that it would give him one of the more rare encouragements.  

"I'm getting to it." Vasquez rolled his eyes. "Ever thought about _why_ nobody claimed this office and took over Hyperion? I mean, there was even a competition about it for a long time, but no one ever _succeeded_."

Rhys _had_ wondered about that. Everyone seemed to be hesitant about becoming the new CEO of Hyperion, while simultaneously gathering power and influence, but no one was so bold as to take over.

"I guess, at the end, they thought it would be wiser do divide the power instead of having one person decide everything on their own. It would be an advantage to have more minds working together and let democracy decide what to do about the company?" Not that it really worked out well in that way either. It was just replacing one tyrant with a bunch of smaller ones, who will always try to trip the other in order to gain the upper hand. If you are one of the people that are pretty low on the company ladder with no connections to the people who _do_ have power, you'll most likely be seen and used as pawn or mindless drone with no actual influence.

Before Jack died, he had the absolute control over the company and any branches, if he disliked something the idea got scrapped. People who made mistakes or were too lazy were booted or sometimes even worse, killed. The constant threat of either fates in fact made people work a lot harder but also put them under a lot of stress. But still, working for Handsome Jack... He was a really charismatic and ambitious man and he did inspire people to do more than they thought themselves to be capable of. His products were the best ones out there and Hyperion itself was universally respected. It was a _challenging_ experience but whoever makes it in Hyperion generally won't have to worry about their future.

Rhys admitted to himself that he had wanted all those things once too. Money, respect and power were enticing baits. Always dangling right before his eyes, he tried his best to take hold of them. But somehow, something or better someone would just jerk the things away until they were out of reach again.

So lost in his thoughts, he didn't immediately notice that Vasquez was speaking.

"...even the elite weren't able to gain entry to the Helios mainframe. We are _floating_ ever since _,_ Rhys. Hyperion is going under if no one takes over the helm. We can't keep up with our rivals anymore, if we don't deliver better and new innovations! We are losing huge amounts of money as we speak...but everything, _everything_ will change. This is our last chance to rise above!"

Rhys was stunned, he didn't know that the company was practically sinking. Yeah, he himself witnessed that the work climate got more and more hostile but the higher ups were always droning on and on about their latest successes or the newest advancements. Vaughn even told him that their profits were as high as ever. But now, it makes somehow sense. Why else would Vasquez consider making deals with bandits, even if it was for a Vault key? Going so far as to embezzle ten million dollars? The Vasquez he knew would've never made a bold move like this. However, he apparently was shitty in judging other people's characters, what with being betrayed by your best friend and all. _Never getting over this!_ Additionally, Vasquez did throw Henderson out of an airlock to steal his promotion.

"There must be thousands of schematics and sketches and _secrets_ hidden in the depths of this supercomputer! With that kind of potential we could crush the companies to dust! But, no, Handsome Jack didn't want anyone to see his projects, it was always supposed to be him and only him. The selfish bastard didn't even contemplate preparing anything in the event of his death. There was no successor nor relative that would be acknowledged by the system. And if someone tried to bypass it, we'll get a countdown, threatening to delete everything or else. We never even came as far as the entrance door. Handsome Jack was really one hell of a programmer. But you know what? We finally found a way and it was _you_ who gave us a chance even though you don't even know what you did. You hand delivered us the _key_."

_He is talking about Jack_. Rhys bit his lip as Vasquez explained further.

"The stuff I told you earlier about the security measures? We didn't just install a defensive and lethal barrier at the entrance, that was the final act. The first few months we tried to _monitor_ this place. Didn't work that well, but there are still cameras. Cameras that I used to _watch_ you." Vasquez chuckled at Rhys' startled face and he wasn't even done yet. "After I've seen you use the A.I. back at Atlas, I knew that we couldn't just remove it from your Echo implants, it was already too deep inside of your subsystems. You became Handsome Jack's last vessel and I had to alter my plans on the spot."

"First and foremost I had to fool Vallory into believing that I was really dead. I knew, that she had an itchy trigger finger since we started our negotiations. The success of it wasn't really important to her. Bandit that she is, she would have shot me anyways. Fortunately I had my body double with me." Shaking his head and looking shortly up at the ceiling, he chuckled. "Rest in pieces, Aaron. You've done well."

Of course he had a doppelganger, Vasquez was probably Handsome Jack's biggest admirer directly after Professor Nakayama. He already tried to emulate Jack's success by dressing smartly and adopting a few of his more _murdery_ traits. Jack also told him that Vasquez used to be bald and apparently he spent a lot of money not to be, even earning him the nickname _Wallethead_. He was most likely jealous of Jack's hair.

"I took the next shuttle back to Helios without anyone the wiser. I informed a small number of my trusted men, pulled a few strings here and there and simply _watched_." Placing the chair port on the desk he suddenly started laughing. "It was hilarious! I don't know who came up with that piece of crap bandit caravan wannabe shuttle but do you really think it was that easy to fool us? You didn't even paint it differently! Oh man and the guard captain was messing with you the whole time! I almost had a conniption. For real though, you would've been dead so fast your ghost would have had whiplash. But we still needed you, so we _let_ you pass. _Ha_. You idiots thought you were all being so _smart_."

"Haha, laugh it up, we made the best out of all the options we had and look how far we've come. It's not that easy to whip up a space shuttle with the limited resources we had and within that short timeframe. I don't care what you think. Just, _just_ tell me where my friends are. I've had enough!"

"Don't be so impatient, Rhys." Vasquez demurred."You should maybe listen more closely to what I have to say. After all, the very lives of those you hold dear are in the palm of my hand. Literally. Maybe you should be _nicer_ to me or else I will close that hand."

Stomach churning, Rhys braced himself for the worst. But at least Vasquez already revealed that they were still alive.

"Your friends, unfortunately, escaped. They left you as a distraction to save themselves. Right now they are halfway on their flight back to Pandora. Maybe even celebrating the fact that they cut off the deadweight. And by deadweight, I meant you of course."

To some extent that comment hurt, even though Rhys knew that Fiona and the others wouldn't just leave if they didn't have a valid reason. He was _glad_ that they got away but still, Rhys was already plagued by bouts of low self-esteem when he had too much time to think about it. Getting stuck here for so long didn't really do him any good.

"Fortunately, what they don't know is, as soon as they landed here on Helios, I had the captain attach an EMP bomb to your board computer. You know what will happen when I detonate it, let's say, during their re-entry to Pandora?" he chuckled lightly. "Your friends are going to _burn_ , Rhys. Not even your little robot friends will withstand the heat. Will there be even anything left, I wonder?"

"No..." Rhys paled and stumbled back, loudly gasping and clutching his chest. He had to sit in one of the two chairs in front of the desk. Bending over slightly to hold his head between his hands, he tried to calm himself down and to get his breathing under control. He felt like puking.

Every decision that he made had ultimately led to this... clusterfuck. His friends were in danger because of his choices. Rhys naive "Let's steal his deal" plan caused all of this misery. If he had just accepted his position as Assistant Vice Janitor, no matter how unfair it was, then his friends wouldn't be in Vasquez' crosshairs. He should have just endured the humiliation.

Yvette would have never betrayed him. Fiona and Sasha would've gotten away with their scheme, living their life comfortably maybe even with their surrogate father Felix. If he had just _waited_ then Vasquez would have just failed on his own! Their superiors wouldn't have let Vasquez get away with stealing ten million dollars from the corporate funds and wasting it on a _fake_ Vault key, especially if the company was already having trouble keeping up with the other manufacturers. At least Vaughn was safe-ish somewhere on Pandora... who was he kidding, Pandora was a death trap waiting to spring.

Vasquez relished in watching Rhys falling apart. He observed every detail with fervour. The normally rosy skin slowly drained of their colour, the way his mismatched eyes would close and open while the young man was struggling to breathe in a more slowly manner. His heart must be pumping rapidly in anguish, oh, if he could just hear it's frantic beat. The power rush he felt as he watched tears form and fall in the trembling body before him. It was simply _beautiful_ and it felt like a gift. He slowly took a handkerchief out of his breast pocket and strolled over. Rhys was too absorbed to even notice him approaching.

"Hey, buddy, shh, shh. Come on, look at me... Rhys, _Rhys_." Vasquez ran his hand through Rhys' hair, startling Rhys out of his stupor. He slapped Vasquez' hand away in reaction, but Vasquez just snatched his hair in return, making Rhys yelp in pain as his head was forced to bend back. "I said, look at _me_."

Rhys glared at him, he was too overcome with everything that had happened that he could not think sensibly. A little voice in his head said to calm down, to play along, to make the other man more inclined to hear his pleas, but it was drowned out by white noise. He tried to twist out of the tight grip but Vasquez would not yield and he just hurt himself further by moving. Both his artificial and real hand were scrabbling against Vasquez' hold of him.

"Put your hands down, you're messing with my new suit. And I really don't like wrinkles."

"Screw you..." Rhys defiantly looked him in the eye. "... _Wallethead_."

Vasquez eyes widened at the nickname. He looked at Rhys in disbelief. For a moment, nothing happened. But then suddenly everything blurred into motion, too fast for Rhys to defend himself.

Rhys was dragged violently by his hair and slammed face first into the desk. His groan was cut off as Vasquez turned him around, making Rhys lie flat on the bureau, his legs on either side of Vasquez' hips as the man stepped uncomfortably closer. Dazed and bleeding from the corner of his mouth, Rhys tried to punch him but his attacker dodged and Vasquez wrapped his left hand tightly around his throat in warning. What was up with all the people wanting to strangle him? The picture of Jack's daughter clattered to the ground as both men struggled. Rhys heard the glass crack and had the absurd thought, that Jack would be quite mad about that.

"You always have to be such a little shit, Rhys! I was trying to be nice, but, oh no, you just had to open your big mouth. Did A.I. Jack tell you about the name? Did he also tell you that I fucking hate it? The last one calling me that was Henderson and you know what happened to him!" he spat out with venom. "You are going to regret this. Say goodbye to all your friends. Because you just gave them a death sentence!"

"N-n..o. D-don't.." Rhys struggled to speak as tears were streaming down his face.

He fucked up again.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May I present you the bane of my existence: Chapter 3 of FailSafe.  
> Gawd, I had so much trouble editing... still not satisfied with the end result, but I also didn't want to keep you waiting too long. :)
> 
> Warnings for this chapter: Attempted rape/non-con, manipulation

The grip on his neck and his mechanical arm was relentless. His flesh hand practically useless, could just scratch but not pry the fingers from his throat. The only thing he could do was gasp and gurgle, because Vasquez didn't let him speak, he had stuffed his mouth with his handkerchief prior to choking him.

He tried raking his nails down Vasquez' face, figuring the narcissistic bastard wouldn't want him to mar his visage. A malicious cackle and the back of his head meeting the table he was laying on one, two, three times was the reward for trying to be something other than a victim.

This was it, this is how he would die. And by this power hungry asshole no less. Rhys should have let Jack kill Vasquez with his own car. He might have felt guilt over a death that would be indirectly tied to him but his friends at least wouldn't be in danger.

"Why do you always defy me, when I've shown you nothing but mercy?!"

How many deaths has this office seen anyways? Would he be the last one to die here?

Vasquez was shaking him now, rattling his bones, roaring, he couldn't avoid the spittle that was hitting him in his face, it was _disgusting_ and Rhys wished he could wipe it off and disinfect himself. He felt dirty, he felt helpless. Vasquez squeezed.

Why was Vasquez still so angry anyway? Vasquez had won, hadn't he?

"I kept you alive after all the shit you pulled! You should be thankful, you should kiss my feet! I've shown you my power, but no, _pretty_ Rhys is still mocking me...!"

Rhys couldn't keep his struggling anymore, his flesh hand fell down limply onto the desk. His fingers came in contact with something hard, it clanked as it moved.

His eyes were rolling back, he wanted to pass out, at least he wouldn't have to see the smarmy git anymore.

And then suddenly, he could breathe again as Vasquez lessened the pressure on his larynx. Rhys heard him chuckle as he desperately wheezed through his nose. He wanted to spit out the handkerchief, which was soaked in his saliva and a few drops of blood from when Vasquez had slammed him down the desk. It tasted awful. Like humiliation.

Vasquez was playing with him now, he would tighten his grip and then release it as he saw fit. He was enjoying it, the sadist, Rhys could see it and feel it.

But there was also something else.

Rhys didn't like how Vasquez was looking at him throughout. How his gaze would turn to something akin to hunger. There was a change in his demeanour, something didn't feel right. He couldn't pin down when it happened, if it was before Rhys had insulted him or after, but something finally broke the calm and cocky mask of Vasquez and Rhys didn't like what he had found behind it.

"I should have done this sooner." Vasquez finally let go of his throat, Rhys could only lay there, too exhausted to move. The hand was descending from his neck lazily to his red tie, Vasquez jerked it a couple times, he grew annoyed that he simply couldn't shake it loose, he let go of Rhys' artificial limb. Rhys was too panicked to notice much less control it to use it to his advantage.

"W-what...are you...doing...?" Rhys had finally spat out the cloth as he was jostled. "S-stop..."

"You are so _aggravating_. Never listening and always _so_ disrespectful..." Vasquez ignored his feeble attempts at speaking. He finally removed the tie and threw it to the ground. Vasquez stepped away from him, Rhys immediately curled up, his long legs tucked in on the desk as he cowered before his nemesis. "Aw, are you afraid? You _should_ be... I'm going to teach you a lesson about humility. About respect. I told you about that, didn't I? This is on you, Rhys. You just _had_ to provoke me, you little... _tease_."

Vasquez turned his back on him, casually removing his suit jacket, while Rhys had finally recovered enough to watch him slowly fold it and put it on the chair next to him. Rhys didn't like the implication of it. But he couldn't guess what new danger he was in. All he knew was that Vasquez was going to hurt him more and it will be messy, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered to take off his suit. Vasquez clearly didn't want it to get dirty.

He really needed a plan, he didn't want any more torture, however, what was left for him to do? He lost his stun baton, the only weapon he had during his entire journey, when Gorty's catapulted him up the trap-filled chute. He couldn't rely on his own physical strength, let's face it, his body was a joke. Rhys even had trouble sitting up right now, too weak by Vasquez strangulation games. Rhys could imagine where he got that particular torturous move.

_Everything comes back to Jack._

After all Handsome Jack was widely known and feared for strangling people to death. They said he loved how intimate it was, how he wanted to see up close the lights diminish in the eyes of his victims. Even his A.I. would sometimes use his mechanical hand as threat to keep Rhys in line, but he had never really choked him. He was no fool, Jack was dangerous. But still... there was a part of Rhys that wanted to give Jack a chance to prove himself. Call him naive, but he had truly believed that there was something in Jack worth trusting. Worth _saving_.

He didn't have those feelings of trust for Vasquez. And Vasquez proved him right as he had demonstrated earlier. Rhys didn't expect that being strangled, _really_ strangled would be so draining. He wanted to run away and he couldn't. His throat ached fiercely, talking hurt, Vasquez most likely left him a collar of black and blue around his neck.

"We have enough time for you to learn, Rhys. After all, your friends still haven't reached the planet yet. I have a final offer for you... How about we spend their last moments of life _together_? Create something together to remember them by?"

Rhys heard the clink of Vasquez' belt being removed. The unease inside of him snapped at that sound, it finally spurred him into action. In his growing fear and despair, he activated his EchoEye, frantically looking around the room for any kind of weapon. He noted that the Jack-Apedia entries were gone and the return of his normal Hyperion issued ones made him feel even more abandoned. _You didn't keep your promise, Jack_.

"I've always pictured you like this... well, not exactly like this, I mean, not right here in this office and not on this particular desk, that would be weird and kinda foreshadowing, but you get my drift..."

Rhys couldn't find any weapon in his reach, he wanted to cry. He tuned Vasquez droning out and continued scanning.

_> Door inaccessible-energy barrier still active, time it takes to completely incinerate you estimated at roughly 2.4 seconds, depending on mass and velocity; trapdoor closed, inactive-manual switches needed, warning: wrong switch order will lead to deactivation of lever override and reactivation of death trap of doom, survival rate: smoothie as in 0% as in 'what you're going to be'; Handsome Jack's wheeled office chair, used for sitting and _ _[REDACTED] also [REDACTED] not to forget [REDACTED]_ _; bust of Handsome Ja- <_

As he tried to read the information on every item in his vicinity, his EchoEye suddenly started to fizz out.

_Please, not now, not you too!_

He scrambled on all fours, his metal arm clanked as it collided with something on the table. The sound was familiar, he looked at the cause of it. It was the chair port. Vasquez had put it down before Rhys had a panic attack. His EchoEye started to function again and immediately started to scan the new object. _Yes, thank_ –

>Hello Rhys. <

Rhys startled as he read the pop up.

"J-jack?!" Rhys whispered, staring at the port. "Are you _in_ there?"

>This is not Jack.<

>You are currently in danger.<

>Let me help you.<

"W-who are you? Where is Jack?" Rhys asked quietly. "Why wo–ah!"

Vasquez had finally turned back to Rhys and had been promptly greeted by Rhys' enticing backside, he approached him quickly in yearning, clenching his fingers around the side of Rhys' legs while Rhys was occupied with the port. Rhys tried to turn around to kick him in the face as he was unexpectedly groped but Vasquez just tightened his grip and pulled him down roughly. Rhys fell on his stomach with an _oomph_ , his EchoEye shut off at the rattling impact _,_ he was then dragged back until his hips were on the edge of the table, his feet barely touching the ground.

"What's this, Rhys? You offering yourself like that, on your knees even... Not that I don't like the view, but I expected a bit more _resistance_ from you. Have you finally given up?" Vasquez licked his lips and stroked along his spine languidly. "Or are you trying to redeem yourself?"

"Stop kidding yourself and stop touching me, you freaking weirdo!" Rhys exclaimed, turning his head to glare at Vasquez who just smirked at him, amused. "You want to torture me?! Go ahead, asshole! I-I can take it!"

"Torture? I'm not going to... Oh, I think, you have the wrong idea... not that I'm that surprised, you are after all, a dumb little _bitch_." Vasquez laughed condescendingly, with a thrust of his pelvis, he let Rhys know about his desire. Rhys eyes widened and he let out a startled squeak.

"... Are you getting it now?" Vasquez grunted into Rhys trembling ear.

Rhys was in disbelief, Vasquez was currently pressing his erection against him lewdly over and over again. He felt the rigid flesh, digging into him... It was disgusting and it made him flinch every time Vasquez thrust forward. Not to mention the groans that were coming from Vasquez. But at least they both still had their clothes on, well, Vasquez pants were on the verge of dropping, with his belt gone and the button opened, the only thing that was holding it up was the zipper.

Vasquez really wanted to... No, this was another scare tactic... To frighten him enough to make him... comply or something. Why would Vasquez suddenly want to sleep with him? This doesn't make any sense. Rhys shakily took a deep breath.

There was still a chance to escape whatever this is... he just had to take a leap of faith... again.

"V-Vasquez! D-don't... Y-you made your point. I-I shouldn't have called you... you-know-what. I-I'm sorry, okay. And y-you proved that you are better than me and you won, o-okay! So, stop being a c-creep and let's just r-re-negotiate." Rhys had his head sideways on the desk as he stared anxiously ahead, not wanting to look at Vasquez' face in case he saw that his EchoEye was activated. He was glad that in this position no one could see his left eye. Fortunately, the port was right next to him, so he could easily scan it. He let out a small sound of relief as his EchoEye started to fizz again until it resumed its function. "P-please, h-help me out..." He promptly got a pop-up.

>I'm going to, Rhys.<

>Please, connect me to your EchoPort immediately.<

Ah, _shit_. How is he going to do that with Vasquez on his back?

"Ah, Rhys. Negotiation time is _over_. You still don't get it, do you? I'm just getting started!" Vasquez said. "You should have thought about that earlier. If you had just listen–"

"I _am_ listening! I was listening before too! And I-I totally get it. Vasquez, I've... I... I never thought you would be...so...smart, so... strong. I underestimated you.... I _was_ blind, I should have seen _you_ but I was scared by your... uh, uhm, masculinity. I thought taking your deal away... would... impress you and also show, yes, show you that I'm capable of doing something so gutsy!" Rhys lied. "I wanted... wanted you to notice me! Finally, notice me."

Internally he was screaming at all the crap that was leaving his mouth, but if that got the job done, he would be gladly yelling it out loud into the intercom of Helios. Rhys knew what would get Vasquez' attention. He was a narcissist. He liked having his ego stroked and he got even more pleasure rubbing his "superiority" into Rhys' face. Having to endure all of Vasquez' animosity and scrutiny for the majority of his career here in Helios made Rhys aware of almost all of his ticks. Almost, because Rhys still didn't know why Vasquez hated him so much and he never thought that Vasquez would actually _murder_ his way up.

Rhys vaguely remembered the first time he met Vasquez. He was still a teen when he started working for Hyperion, on Helios, his dream location for just the simple fact that it was housing his idol. Yes, he had to lie and hack his file to get the job, otherwise they would have rejected him as soon as they saw his date of birth. So, he made himself a few years older, four years to be exact, suddenly had a lot more experience, credentials, tweaked his background a bit too... For all intents and purposes at that time, he was Rhys Summer, a 21 year old programmer and salesman, someone who graduated with honours from Eden-5's top university. The only one who knew the truth was Vaughn.

His best friend was smart, smart enough to notice all the little lies Rhys told to make himself older and more work experienced than he actually was. And honestly, Rhys was not a expert liar anyway. He figured, when he decided to fib _a bit_ on his résumé, that he wouldn't need to be, if he just kept to himself.

Anyway. After conning his way into Hyperion, he had to be vigilant and play the part he had pretended to be on paper. It was stressful, nerve wrecking and before Vaughn had wormed himself into his life, he was considered a workaholic and loner.

Rhys had met Vasquez during a meeting. He can only bitterly remember that Vasquez decimated one of his first presentations and called out major flaws in his future outlook. He completely humiliated him. Rhys couldn't do anything, except stand there and stammer, while he knew that his head was sporting the colour of a tomato. Everyone present at the meeting had chuckled at his miserable attempt to defend himself against the onslaught of verbal attacks. The worst thing was that Vasquez had been right. For a long time that incident stayed with him through many months of rectifying his inexperience. Since then, Vasquez made a sport out of it to embarrass and ridicule him, no matter how much Rhys improved.

When he thought about his, Vasquez asshole behaviour had fuelled Rhys need to prove himself. Therefore, when he heard that Vasquez was considering the position of Senior Vice President of Security Propaganda, Rhys aspired to do the same, just to beat him at his own game. It led to many sleepless nights, that turned into sleepless weeks and sleepless months, shady and risky eridium deals and bootlicking behaviour.

_I worked hard to be one of the best in the sales department, asshole, so just watch me blow your freaking mind!_

He slightly turned his left upper body in Vasquez direction and gazed submissively into Vasquez slightly widening eyes. Rhys was glad that he was flexible enough that he didn't immediately cramp up while holding this position. He grasped the port silently and hid it inside his mechanical hand. Now the uncomfortable part...

"I can't pretend to be someone I'm not! Not anymore. You were right back then, I'm a fraud! You... had this big plan and it was sooo... next level. _I_ would have _never_ thought of something like that. After everything you have accomplished... You will always be the winner. I can see it now. It couldn't be any other way. There is... only one thing left for me to say, something that is not an easy thing for me to admit, after everything that happened, but I want you to know...that... I...I admire you. I think I've always admired you..." He coyly avoided Vasquez' gaze and turned back to face the desk as if he was shy all of a sudden by his _confession_ while he secretly exchanged the port from his artificial hand to the real one. The action was completely hidden by his partially lifted torso. He bowed his head towards his hands and slightly turned it so that the side of his port was covered again, he then finally inserted the chair port into his EchoPort. Hoping all the while that Vasquez was none the wiser. "...I was just so blinded by my own failures, you know... I... It's not easy to say this either, but Vasquez, you were the reason, I pushed myself so hard. I wanted to be just like you."

Vasquez meanwhile was staring in amazement at Rhys. He was in a daze... All the fantasies he had before... _Nothing_ was close to what he was witnessing right at this moment. Not in a million years would he ever had expected this! Rhys admitting to admiring him? Doing it so lewdly right in front of him! Vasquez eyes hungrily followed the curve of his back, Rhys' head was bowed, he had turned away from him, avoiding his gaze... but that was okay, after that shy confession. He must have been overwhelmed by his... _feelings_. At the thought of that, he was reminded of his own 'feelings' straining uncomfortably against his zipper. Well, he had a solution for that.

Rhys was taken aback as a female voice suddenly spoke to him, he had expected to see pop-ups again. At least he didn't yelp in surprise or anything that would make Vasquez suspicious of him.

>I detect an inactive Atlas robot in your digi-inventory. Designation name: Dover. The energy level is insufficient...<

>Re-routing power from accumulator of mecha-arm to Dover by digi-structing connection cable. Energy level will be sufficient for 'Artificially Induced Hemispherical Obdormition' protocol. Usage will lead to depletion of energy reserves.<

>Please, wait...<

_Who the hell is Dover...?!_

Rhys' shirt was suddenly lifted out of his pants, his vest bunched uncomfortably. Rough hands were hungrily touching the soft skin that was hidden beneath. He felt the scratchy beard of Vasquez as he bent over to place a kiss on his lower back.

_Oh, fuck, no! Not again!_

His mind was blank. Rhys couldn't move, he knew that if he did, then Vasquez would see that he was currently connected to the chair port. And if he did, then the gig would be up and Rhys could guess that Vasquez wasn't going to be happy about being lied to. Oh, Rhys was so going to die.

But at least, there was the sliver of hope that he would get out of this mostly unscathed.

The female voice he heard must be another A.I., maybe even the personification of Helios. She said that she would help him, but for her to do so, he had to stay connected. Rhys just had to give her more time.

"V-Vasquez... What, uh, are you doing?"

"Shh, I finally understand... I know you want this too... Rhys... I can make it _good_ for you. I apologize for being rough before, I didn't know how you really feel about me..." Vasquez said, slowly stroking his naked back downwards until he settled one big hand on Rhys' rear. His other hand dragged down his zipper, finally freeing his boxer-clad erection from the pressure. "Hmm...it certainly is a _lovely_ surprise."

Rhys twitched and let out a little squeak as a hand touched his butt. Dread filled him as he heard Vasquez unzip. Vasquez is really taking it the wrong way! Rhys didn't expect Vasquez to continue with his... his creepiness. But maybe he had laid it on too thick and Vasquez was misinterpreting it... _Oh, hell no, he really thinks I have a crush on him! What the hell!_

"I-I think there is a mis-misunderstanding!" Rhys stammered. Vasquez gently squeezed his ass and then took hold of his hips, slowly thrusting forward. Rhys yelped but still didn't turn around. "Oh, god, a re-really _big_ misunderstanding! And...and what about your wife?!"

"No, Rhys, I told you that I _completely_ understand. You think it's too fast. But you know what? You don't have to worry about anything. I'm older than you and I've been around the block, romantically speaking. You are going to love it..." Vasquez said seductively. He tried opening Rhys pants but metal fingers dug into his wrist. "You don't need to worry about Celina. Just say the word and I will leave her..."

"Vasquez, _don't_. _Please_."

"Come on, I _waited_ long enough!" Vasquez pried Rhys' fingers from his wrist, twisting it behind Rhys' back, it wouldn't be in the way now. "You were always playing hard to get... always teasing me..." Vasquez eagerly gripped the zipper. Rhys closed his eyes, silently trying not to sob. As Vasquez dragged it down, the artificial limb started to glow, startling Vasquez into letting go.

>Digi-structing Dover<

Rhys couldn't see what was happening, didn't really want to see, he felt such a relief, as he heard the Helios A.I. speak again. Rhys felt Vasquez stumbling back as if something had collided.

>Initiating protocol 'Artificially Induced Hemispherical Obdormition'<

"What the fu–"

Electricity was discharged nearby, making the hair on Rhys stand up, the distorted painful screams of Vasquez were shortly followed by a loud thump that made Rhys flinch. As the silence took reign over the office, Rhys knew that he was safe but still he was too scared to move or to take a look, so he stayed as he was, still bent over the desk, feeling empty and ashamed.

>Target paralyzed.<

>You can open your eyes now, Rhys. The danger has been dealt with.<

Rhys didn't. He wanted to but he couldn't, he was startled as he felt something trying to nuzzle his head. Then he heard a familiar beeping.

"D-Dumpy?" Rhys hesitantly took a peek and then let out a relieved sigh. The tension that his body was under ebbed at the sight of his protector. "Hi Dumpy. Or should I call you Dover from now on? Nah, Dumpy is cuter."

Rhys petted Dumpy on the top of his head as a thank you. The little white, red Atlas robot beeped excitedly in response, floating up and down, even doing little loops. Rhys smiled at his antics, this little innocent things sure elevated his mood a bit.

Rhys stood up from the desk with a groan. His zipper was down, he numbly noted. He should do something about that. Wanting to zip it up again, he tried to reach out with his metal arm, but he couldn't move it anymore.

_Oh. I forgot. She needed the energy._ Rhys simply used his other hand. He can replenish the energy at a later time, when he was safe to do so.

After a couple of moments, where he nervously fidgeted with his clothes, he finally gathered the courage to turn around.

There he was. His nemesis. In a somewhat bizarre fashion, the taut body of Vasquez was contorted as if he was doing a weird yoga pose and someone just chose to freeze time at that exact moment. His arrogant face was twisted into a grimace, his eyes were closed. His pants were...

Rhys took a deep breath and turned around again, facing the desk. He reached for the chair port still connected to his head, touching it gently.

"Thank you for helping me. Whoever you are."

>You're welcome. <

>...Are you ok?<

Rhys hurriedly wiped at his eyes. Somehow that question just stirred everything up again, even though they were just words. It made what had almost happened more real and sinister. "Yes, I-I'm fine."

Dumpy was worriedly beeping at him but Rhys just waved him away. "Really, I'm just...it's okay." _Or it will be._

Rhys really didn't want to think about what would've happened if his mysterious guardian didn't save him.

"Sorry, if this is rude, but who are you? Are you an A.I. too? Like Jack, I mean..."

>I am... Malachi, the A.I. of this office. I was implemented by Handsome Jack himself to control the core of Helios.<

>With his absence, I am Helios' sole protector. The keeper of all of Handsome Jack's secrets. I'm the reason that Hugo Pilus Vasquez, or any other wannabe successor for that matter, is unable to get access to the core.<

"Oh my god, the P stands for Pilus? Figures." Rhys chuckled. That would be one more thing for Jack to make fun of Vasquez. Rhys couldn't wait to tell Ja...

Oh. He almost forgot.

"Malachi, do you know what happened to Jack?"

>To answer your question I'll give you the short version of the events that had transpired.<

>When A.I. Jack was uploaded to the mainframe, it triggered a system response, sending the A.I. on a premeditated course.<

>His transmission was coordinated on former orders from Handsome Jack himself, he– <

"No, really?! Jack wanted to send himself away? Away from Helios? What? Why? That doesn't make sense... I don't understand." Rhys asked, crossing his arms, or well, tried to. With only one arm working, he repositioned his flesh hand to his hip. Feeling weirdly sassy and 'Fiona-like'.

Malachi answered him in a mildly annoyed tone that surprised Rhys. After all, she seemed to be like what he had expected a real A.I. to be. Emotionless and mechanical. Like the female voice that would sometimes echo through Helios, reminding people of important events or in Rhys most recent and humiliating memory, ordering the Assistant Vice Janitor to clean out trash. While she had been practically belittling him, her voice was still monotone and happy as all her other announcements have been. Rumors were that her origins lay in a former female voice operator, who wanted to quit her job over "disagreements" with the new management, Jack allegedly designed the A.I.'s voice especially after hers to mock her. Some say she became a travelling voice actress, others say she fled to Pandora after Jack promised to string her up by her vocal chords for refusing to say "booty salads"... or was it "booty sufflé"? Where was he going with this? Ah, yes.

Malachi was different, but Rhys was unable to guess _how_ different.

>I was not finished with my tale, Rhys.<

"Oh, uhm, sorry, okay, go on." Rhys muttered.

>Handsome Jack knew that he would have died eventually. Either by natural or unnatural causes.<

>He had no family to bequeath his fortune to nor did he trust any other to be his successor.<

>Jack only trusted himself, therefore he gave Professor Nakayama the permission to find a way to make Jack immortal.<

"Yeah, that sounds like Jack!" Rhys quipped with a big grin on his face. After a pointed silence, Rhys blushed, he fidgeted where he stood and then awkwardly mumbled an apology for interrupting again. Malachi paid it no further heed and simply resumed speaking.

>Professor Nakayama was able to construct a digital copy of Jack using brain scans he conducted during a lengthy period of time.<

>Jack believed that it was necessary to test the copy. Instructions were made, parameter set. The experiment was ready to go until Jack died unexpectedly. Nakayama went rogue shortly after. The copy was presumed lost or destroyed.<

>The protocol, however, was still primed. You started it anew, Rhys. You can be proud of yourself, you practically fulfilled Handsome Jack's last wish.<

Rhys sat there with his mouth wide open, stunned by the new revelations, but there was also the familiar feeling of grief. Admittedly, he wasn't the raging HJ fanboy anymore, not now, not after everything. Meeting Jack had been an eye-opener.

But some time ago, when he still was one of them, the first time he heard about Handsome Jack's death, he was inconsolable. Vaughn and Yvette would roll their eyes at him, when he randomly burst out Handsome Jack facts or when he started to light a candle for him at a hastily made shrine in his small apartment. He stopped doing that eventually, when one of his posters _slightly_ caught fire...Vaughn might have also confiscated all of his candles.

Rhys naively assumed that the A.I. was the real deal. He had simply believed that Handsome Jack was alive again, just stuck in another form, waiting to be freed. Jack was still charming, _yes_ , he was a dick too... and he could be really mean. But... there were moments of unexpected kindness and vulnerability that made Rhys take notice. In Rhys' eyes he was human through and through. Not that Rhys, considered robots to be less than humans, he was practically halfway there of being a robot himself with the amounts of cybernetics he had. But Jack's _humanness_ and _flaws_ made him seem like the real, original Jack. Nevertheless, Rhys _cared_ for him, knowing the truth now didn't change his feelings, but he instinctively knew that A.I. Jack would be devastated if he ever found out that he was... _just_ a copy. Maybe he should just keep it to himself, it didn't sound like Malachi had time to tell Jack about all those details anyway.

"What happened next?" Rhys asked in a subdued voice. "Is he going to come back?"

>I can't tell you, it depends solely on him. The A.I. version of Jack was given the chance to regain all of his primary functions.<

>In order for him to be accepted as true successor, he also has to prove himself worthy.<

>But I can't disclose further information about his quest. I'm not permitted.<

Rhys was confused. Quest... for his _primary functions_? He turned his gaze absentmindedly to the desk. A glowing circular device at the edge of the table caught his eye. _Hacktor_.

"Oh, no, no, no..." He totally forgot about his friends. What was wrong with him, he was such a spaz. Oh, they are still going to die! And it's still his fault! _OhshitOhshit_ –

>You heart rate is elevated.<

>Is something the matter, Rhys?<

"I... I need to warn my friends, they are in danger!" Rhys exclaimed. He ran his flesh hand through his hair, making him look frazzled. "I wasted so much time, I–"

>Vasquez is currently incapacitated and will be remaining in this state until the correspondent antidote to his paralysis is injected directly into his blood stream. He will not be able to detonate the EMP-bomb from his position.<

Rhys let out a sigh. _They were safe–_

>However, there is still the possibility that Vasquez' conspirators are going to, if he remains absent for too long. He might have planned for this contingency.<

_–or not! Shit!!_

"Of course, he is going to have a another plan!" Rhys ranted, upset again. He angrily turned to Vasquez crumpled form. "You... stupid...plan..plan maker. Planner? Whatever, you suck, _Assquez_!"

Rhys wanted to kick Vasquez. He would have definitely deserved it! But he also didn't want to get closer... Rhys was still distraught about what Vasquez intended to do to him.

>Rhys. Calm down. Take a seat.<

She didn't say anything else, Rhys figured she was waiting for him to comply. He shakily wandered over Jack's chair and plopped down. He immediately felt better, which was weird... Oh, yeah, the hormone injectors. This was nice, really, really nice.

>I have a proposition for you.<

Rhys looked up at the ceiling, even though he knew that the A.I. isn't installed there, but he had to look somewhere.

>It's not too late. I can help you save your friends.<

>But I need your assistance.<

>In exchange for my services... I need you to store a few files into your subsystems.<

Rhys eyes widened at that. Why does everyone want to get inside his head? He wasn't that stupid, she wanted to put the data Vasquez was talking about earlier inside of him.

She had been here during Vasquez villain speech, she knew that Vasquez desperately wanted the files. Maybe Vasquez would have gotten them today, if Rhys hadn't been in the way. He seemed to be pretty confident about Hacktor.

>For years, I kept the files save. But as I implied before, I'm restricted in my movements. I'm restricted to this office.<

>Those who want to usurp the throne, will always know where to find the files.<

>I can't protect them anymore, not after you triggered my protocol when you uploaded the A.I. Jack into my mainframe. Making it easy for Hugo Vasquez's new device to overcome my firewalls.<

>Rhys, you made me... vulnerable.<

"I'm so sorry, Malachi, but I didn't know that this would happen. I... I _can't_ do this.This will put another target on my back! A really, really big shiny and blinking one! Vasquez, no, Hyperion or whatever power hungry asshat there is around here... They are going to _hunt_ me down to get those back!" Rhys said desperately. "I didn't intend to expose you like this, but what can _I_ do on my own anyway?"

>Rhys...<

>I have a plan, but I _really_ need you to help me. Escape to Pandora. <

>You will be a needle in a haystack, especially if you disguise yourself, if you stay hidden, you will stay safe. Just use the experience you gained on your journey.<

>They won't find you.<

>You can do it, Rhys. Everything will be fine.<

"How, how do you know? I'm _useless_. I can't do anything! Look what happened here!" Rhys said in despair. "What do I even do with those files? Am I going to be a cache for the rest of my life? Will I have to run forever?!"

>Rhys, when Jack was uploaded to... Helios, I saw from his memory files what you did for him and what you were willing to do for your comrades.<

>And even before I scanned his files, I listened to your conversation with him.<

>You had the opportunity to gain immense power. _Jack_ was willing to _share_ his throne with you... <

>You didn't want that. I guarantee you, that you won't find another employee here on Helios who would decline such an offer like you did.<

"Yeah, I really didn't want it." Rhys said. "Let's be honest. Jack... Whatever made him say the things he said earlier... now, that I had time to think about it... I don't believe that he really meant it... He... he was just excited being back. Heat of the moment, you know. But whatever, I'm just going to disappoint him down the road sooner or later, that's inevitable. It's better if I just... leave."

Rhys closed his eyes, feeling vulnerable, all alone in this mess. He already was an insecure person, even though he tried hard to hide it. Working in Hyperion normally required a thick skin and a ruthlessness that Rhys wasn't comfortable with. Sadly, if it weren't for Vaughn and Yvette, he would've never made it this far. He was aware that Jack would've never considered him for the position of co-president or P.A., if Rhys hadn't randomly found him inside Nakayama's ID port.

Again, Rhys on his own, had nothing to offer.

>You are wrong.<

>Jack forced you to be his PA, so you would stay. You wanted safety, not only for you but also your friends. He granted it, even though Jack was indifferent and hostile to them.<

>He could've just let you go or he could've simply killed you. It would've been the most logical action for a man like Handsome Jack. It would've been the easiest.<

>Jack didn't even consider it.<

>Why do you think he would do that?<

>He cares about you, Rhys. Against all odds. He does.<

"Oh..." Rhys whispered in a hopeful tone in his voice. "...if you put it like that..."

Yes, she was right, Jack seemed to be keen on keeping him around. For whatever reason. Rhys was never able to predict Jack's mood, but Jack... wouldn't make that much effort to just mess with him, would he?

It was kinda out of character that he had agreed to Rhys' plea without a fuss. He would protect Rhys, when the situation was dire, but Rhys figured, with the way they were both connected, it was just in Jack's best interest to keep both of them safe. Getting the A.I. to help him protect his friends? Oh, that was another story.

During their time together he never had anything nice to say to any of his acquaintances except maybe for the robots. According to Jack, Sasha and Fiona were Pandora bred scum that could die in the gutter they crawled out from. Oddly ripped Vaughn apparently had a crush on Rhys (which was ridiculous!), but he will be staying in the friendzone forever, because both of them had zero game (sadly true) and hey, Rhys was a total virgin anyways (...uh, _redacted?_ ) and if anything ever were to happen between the nerds, Rhys would surely faint at the sight of another dick and die of a head injury. Jack also said something about playing the violin during his funeral but Rhys already stopped listening because Jack had implanted the image of his best friend's penis into his head and oh, god now he was thinking about it again.

>There is not much time left to prepare, if you want your friends to survive. I need your answer.<

Rhys had to remind himself that his friend's lives depend on him.

There was only one answer.

* * *

 

Climbing down the trap door was even more harrowing, when you only had one arm to hold onto the ladder. He was also on his own, which somehow made everything he did more frightening.

Rhys wished that he had his little robot friend with him but Dumpy was currently being modified by Malachi. Something about making him more efficient. She would send him later to the designated escape pod.

Meanwhile, Rhys had other things on his mind. His current plan was to sneak into his hopefully untouched apartment and gather some supplies for his trip. Say goodbye to his old life and mentally prepare himself for another nail biting adventure. Another thing was that he really needed to change his appearance and wardrobe and most importantly, he wanted to take a quick hot shower. It was a luxury that he will most likely not have again on Pandora.

Rhys finally reached the end of the chute and after closing his eyes, he jumped the last bit down. Landing with an _uff_ on his lips, he immediately searched around the grimy and gory place for his stun baton.

But it was a fruitless endeavour. Maybe Fiona and Gortys took it with them?

Brushing off stray pieces of... "meat", he made his way down the corridor. Rhys hadn't even reached the end of it, when a familiar voice suddenly called his name from one of the holding cells he passed. His chest ached at the sight that greeted him, it made him swallow down the hurt he felt upon seeing his former best friend.

"Rhys."

"Yvette." Rhys acknowledged hesitantly. "What happened to you?"

Rhys eyed the black eye and the other bruises she was sporting on her face. The sight of her, defeated and hurt, didn't give Rhys any satisfaction as Jack had promised earlier. He was glad that he didn't let Dumpy shock her.

"Oh, just a little payback, you could say. Your pandorian friend, the one with the hat? She gave me the black eye. Knocked me right out." Yvette gingerly touched her face, running a finger down the rest of the bruises. "These I got from our lovely Senior Vice President of Securities Propaganda."

"...I thought you were partners. Why would he hit you?"

"You could say, that we had some minor disagreements... I lost the battle and he put me in this cell..." Yvette said, trying to look into his eyes. She rested her hand against the barrier that kept her in the cell. "I... Rhys, I'm sorry."

"F-for what? For wanting me dead? Giving me up to Vasquez? Sabotaging me?" Rhys said, he had to force down the sob that was threatening to come out of him. She didn't deserve to see his vulnerability. "...for, for pretending to be my best friend?"

"Rhys, I..."

"No, don't say anything. Don't try to justify what you did. I wouldn't believe you anyway. Goodbye Yvette."

Rhys turned away, he had to leave or he would lose it. His repulsive encounter with Vasquez was still vivid in his mind. Having Yvette play a part in this no matter how small it might be, made him seethe in anger. She was no better than him, both of them wanted to use Rhys for their own gratification.

"Wait, stop, don't go!" Yvette exclaimed. "Please!"

It was the panic in her voice that made Rhys stop in his track. Without facing her, he waited for her to continue.

"Vasquez is going to kill me! He wants to set an example." Yvette said hurriedly. "You have to help me, Rhys. I don't want to die!"

"You... are really a piece of work, aren't you? Asking me to help you? Are you serious? You schemes almost killed me. All the talk about not being able to send more weapons or supplies and... you... You expect me to just forget about that?! You betrayed us and Vaughn doesn't even know..."

"Rhys... You...don't _understand._ " Yvette insisted. "You really think you could just steal money from Hyperion without being punished for it? You think our colleagues don't know, how close we are? I was on my own, no one at my ba–"

"That's not true, you had _us_! We were a team! We we–"

"You were my stupid friend who chewed more than he could swallow! Who couldn't solve his own pathetic problems without dragging his friends into the same mess!" Yvette snapped at him. "Can you really blame me for having a security net to fall into, when your half-arsed plan didn't work out eventually?"

Rhys fell silent as she laughed at him, his chest hurt and throbbed with every heartbeat.

"I was under the scrutiny of one of the biggest vindictive assholes here on Helios and you really believed that I would just twiddle my thumbs and wait for instructions that could get me killed in the blink of an eye? I know that you were naive, but what did you expect?"

She slammed her fist against the barrier. Rhys shoulders were shaking and he placed a hand on his useless metal arm.

"You leave me here and you are going to be responsible for my death. How are you going to tell Vaughn that you murdered me?"

"...I can't do this." Rhys gasped. "I can't..."

"Then let me out."

In and out, in and out. Rhys, get yourself together! Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale–

"Let me out!"

Inhale, inhale, inhale... why was there no air... This room didn't have enough air. He had to get out. Out.

"Where are you going?! Rhys, stop, don't leave me here! You fuc–"

Rhys didn't hear her screams or insults, the only noise that he registered was the sound of the sliding door closing behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> If you want to know what I'm working on right now, click my profile for a progress report!  
> Please contact me, if you notice a major error somewhere, I'll appreciate it!


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